Statewide Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Standardization and Response Travis Calendine, EMC Town of Little Elm  Greg Cutler, EMC City of Mansfield  Coitt Kessler, Robotic Emergency Deployment (RED) Team, Program Manager Austin Fire Department Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Agenda Introduction Purpose Learning Objectives Background State UAS Program Survey Results State Public Safety UAS Pilot Certification/ Qualification Program Framework 2019 Timeline Questions/ Discussion References Contacts

Introductions  Travis Calendine  Greg Cutler  Coit Kessler 

Purpose Collaborative discussion on Statewide UAS standards, training, and certification for public safety UAS pilots.  

Learning Objectives Overview of public safety UAS programs around the State. Why the need for a standardized training and certification. Share and discuss the initial framework of the training and certification program.

Background North Texas Public Safety Unmanned Response Team and the City of Austin Fire Department Robotic Emergency Deployment (RED) Team Proof of concept Hurricane Harvey Rebuild Texas Hurricane Harvey Report Partners: North Texas and Capital Region Public Safety Unmanned Response Teams North Central Council of Governments UAS Working Group Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services (TEEX) Other local jurisdictions

Eye of the Storm UAS Recommendations Review laws and practices affecting the use of drones during emergency events and recommend changes in operations to promote their use. (Pg.7. Chapter 7, Item # 9) Technology used during and after Hurricane Harvey included unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as UAVs, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), or drones; websites; social media; and software applications. The use of technology can accelerate and expand response and recovery efforts. (Pg. 139. Disaster Technology) Drones played an important role in the immediate aftermath to Hurricane Harvey. Many different groups, both public and private, flew drones over affected areas for a variety of reasons. Emergency responders as well as insurance companies, NASA, railway operators, private industry, and state government agencies were all among drone users during Harvey. (pg. 139, Drones)

                                    2017

State Air Operations Center

                          The Next Frontier

State UAS Program Survey Results Texas UAS Programs  Questions: (57) Responses Point of Contact Jurisdiction Public Safety Entity Certificate of Authorization (COA) Part 107 Program Existence Program Scale Program Management Program Funding Type and Quantity of UAS Issues/ Concerns Comments

Survey Results

Survey Results cont.

Survey Results cont. Jurisdiction/ Department Budget

Survey Results cont. Type and Number of UAS in your program. Types: DJI, Leptron RDASS Number: 3 to 5 average Common Issues/ Concerns:  Standardized Training Program Management Certifications Comments: I would like to see training available for more emergency services pertaining to intergovernmental communication and planning. Stuff like that is hard to come by unless you dig for it or specifically reach out to someone, so a central platform for state and local agencies to turn to would be helpful in planning flights and addressing important areas.

State Public Safety UAS Pilot Certification/ Qualification Program Framework Basic Advanced Master LZ Manager Course UAS Manager Course Jurisdictional UAS Program Coordinator Course State UAS Disaster Coordinator

BASIC 40 Hour Flight School Basic level NIST Course certification Part 107 License  (Federal Standard) Check Off and qualify on basic level mission flight skills What do we want these to be?

ADVANCED 2 Years as Basic Pilot 50 Documented Flight Hours Part 107 Renewed NIST – Recertified at a higher skill level Checkoff and qualify on Advanced level mission flight skills Upon completion of Advanced may take LZ Manager Course and get Certified as LZ Manager? Other Skills that should be required?

MASTER 2 years as Advanced Pilot 100 Documented Flight Hours Part 107 Renewed Re-Certification on NIST – must meet a higher standard of proficiency Checkoff and qualify on Master level mission flight skills Upon completion will be eligible for UAS Manager Course Other skills that should be required?

What do I get with each Certification Level? A Card with your Certification Level on it and any other endorsements such as LZ Manager or UAS Manager. This card would be presented to Command at any incident you respond to and they would quickly be able to identify what UAS positions you are eligible to fill.   This card will also allow an LZ Manager to quickly identify your skill level and which types of missions should be assigned to you.  

2019 Propsed Timeline February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 August 2019 State Wide UAS Program Survey March 2019 UAS Regional Standards Content Review  April 2019 TDEM Conference Survey Results/Training& Certification Standards August 2019 Statewide Site Visits  September 2019 Statewide Council of Governments Consensus  November 2019 TDEM Presentation for Validation January 2020 Finished 

Questions/ Discussion

UAS Presentation Survey Presentation Survey Link: https://forms.gle/TtveQojj7G3L1z2E8 Statewide UAS Resource/ Program Survey Link: https://forms.gle/xuPpWA1TteE45JgV8

References  NFPA 2400 Standards for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Used for Public Safety Operations, 2019 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Standard Test Methods for Aerial Systems, 2019.  https://www.nist.gov/el/intelligent-systems- division-73500/response-robots/aerial-systems Eye of The Storm, Report of the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas, November 2018. https://www.rebuildtexas.today/wp- content/uploads/sites/52/2018/12/12-11-18-EYE-OF-THE-STORM-digital.pdf Regional UAS Standards, Public Safety UAS Best Practices, 2018, Coitt Kessler and Greg Cutler: https://www.nctcog.org/getattachment/ep/WorkingGroups/Unmanned-Aerial- Systems-UAS-1/UAS-Regional-Standards-Version-10_2019.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

Contact Info -Travis Calendine, EMC Town of Little Elm tcalendine@littleelm.org 9723771896 -Greg Cutler, EMC City of Mansfield greg.cutler@mansfieldtexas.gov 8172764782 -Coitt Kessler Robotic Emergency Deployment (RED) Team, Program Manager Austin Fire Department Coitt.Kessler@austintexas.gov 5126536458